Essentials Only! Reduce Your Wardrobe to Fit in Your Dorm Room

In today's fast fashion world, we're constantly overloaded with the newest trends at super low costs, which has led to bursting closets (and unseen bedroom floors if we're being honest). So when it comes to editing your wardrobe to pack for your cubby-sized dorm room closet, the task can seem near impossible.

Full disclosure: we've done it, and reducing your clothes down to the necessities is not easy. You'll say to yourself, "Oh, I'll definitely wear this pink peplum top that I bought two years ago and wore once." When the truth is, you probably won't. In fact, you'll probably let someone borrow it for a party and never even see it again.

So when you look into that overstuffed rack of material in your room, don't be intimidated. What reducing your wardrobe really comes down to is packing staples and supplementing them with pieces that you love and that make your look uniquely you. Read on for our tips!

Jeans

Jeans are on the top of the list of items that people tend to overpack. You won't need eight pairs of mediocre jeans (and no, having to do your own laundry isn't that good of an excuse). A good pair of black jeans, a pair of "nice" jeans, and a pair of comfy, easy jeans will likely get you through any mood.

Basics

When you're trying to reduce your wardrobe but not wear the same outfit everyday, having items that you can layer with is a necessity. Take a long sleeve T-shirt and put it under a summer dress with tights and you're ready for chilly fall nights, or a take basic T-shirt and switch out the accessories for a variety of looks you can wear throughout the semester.

Button-Downs

Despite wanting to be comfortable running from class to class, you’re definitely going to want to bring some nicer pieces for presentations and other fancier affairs. Finding tops that you can wear in different ways, such as collared shirts and button-ups, are a great way to do this because they can be worn over jeans, tied up, or tucked into a high-waisted skirt, or even unbuttoned over a dress.

Outerwear

Whether you live on the East or West Coast, you're going to need to pack outerwear for those chilly fall and winter days (and air conditioned classrooms!). If your school is in a colder region, bring one or two practical, warm coats for that walk to class across campus when it's snowing. Otherwise, having a couple of great cardigans, moto jackets, and blazers, is a great way to switch up any look while keeping you warm.

Accessories

We can't say this loud enough: accessories can change everything! From a scarf to a necklace, your whole look can be transformed with the right addition. An added bonus is that packing accessories is easy because they are small enough to stick in a box or tie on a hanger.